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Latest Stories

Education

Although the number of first-time candidates taking the Uniform CPA
Examination fell 15% in 1998, the percentage of those who passed
increased after an all-time low in 1997.

In contrast to last year’s disappointing results, in which the
percentage of passing first-time test takers for the November 1997
combined exam sank to 12.5%, more candidates received good news in
1998. According to the National Association of State Boards of
Accountancy (NASBA), 16.1% passed the May 1998 exam and 16.2% passed
the November exam.

Park E. Leathers, CPA, PhD, who analyzed the exam results for NASBA
surmised that candidates’ haste to take the 1997 exam before all the
jurisdictions implemented the 150-hour educational requirement caused
the poor performance.

“The number of candidates rose sharply as candidates rushed to get
started on the examination process under the more lenient educational
requirement,” Leathers wrote. “After the requirement’s implementation,
the number of candidates fell precipitately.”

In terms of numbers, first-time candidates taking all parts of the
examination shrank from 45,674 in 1997 to 38,573 in 1998.

Leathers, who is Ernst & Young Professor Emeritus at Bowling
Green State University, theorized that passing rates would rebound
once the flurry of test taking was over and the 150-hour educational
requirement was implemented nationwide. Moreover, the more rigorous
academic preparation (the 150 hours) would translate into better
examination performance in the future.

Are you working with the best technology? Do you know how to help your clients determine if their technology stack measures up? In this free report, J. Carlton Collins, CPA, explains how to answer those questions via a technology assessment engagement.